UK family and spouse visa refusal rate by nationality: July 2025 to June 2026
From July 2025 to June 2026 the Home Office refused 7.3% of UK partner (spouse) visa decisions (3,081 of 41,983) and 13.8% of all family visa decisions (9,197 of 66,787), according to its official immigration statistics published on 27 August 2026. Below, nationality by nationality. The partner figure is shown on its own because the family group also includes children, other relatives and refugee family reunion.
Partner (spouse) visas · all nationalities: 7.3% refused (3,081 of 41,983 decisions)
Highest family visa refusal rates among nationalities with at least 500 decisions: Nepal (39.6%), Albania (25.9%), Eritrea (25.7%). Lowest: United States (4.7%), Yemen (5.6%), Thailand (6.2%).
Source: Home Office, Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes detailed datasets, year ending June 2026 (XLSX, published 27 August 2026, downloaded on 15 October 2026; next update 26 November 2026). Refusal rate = refused ÷ (granted + refused), as in the Home Office grant rate; withdrawn and lapsed applications are excluded. Figures from 2026 Q1 are provisional.
Statistics, not advice. These are official figures for all applications made in a past period. They cannot predict the decision on your application, and a lower rate does not make a visa easier for you: each application is assessed on its own documents. Always follow the consulate's official requirements.
UK family and partner visa refusal rate by nationality
Nationalities with at least 100 family visa decisions from July 2025 to June 2026, by number of decisions. Tap a column heading to sort, or type to filter. "Year before" = July 2024 to June 2025. * Fewer than 500 decisions: the rate can swing a lot. – Fewer than 100 decisions.
| Pakistan | 9.4% | 9.8% | 9,103 | 6.3% | 7,305 |
| Afghanistan | 18.1% | 20.0% | 4,138 | 11.4% | 1,065 |
| Nepal | 39.6% | 36.5% | 3,662 | 2.4% | 1,077 |
| United States | 4.7% | 4.4% | 3,659 | 4.1% | 3,401 |
| India | 8.1% | 10.6% | 2,975 | 6.6% | 2,603 |
| Iraq | 7.4% | 7.4% | 2,574 | 5.7% | 2,265 |
| Ghana | 17.9% | 20.1% | 2,182 | 7.8% | 1,619 |
| Iran | 6.6% | 4.4% | 2,022 | 6.2% | 520 |
| Yemen | 5.6% | 12.2% | 2,014 | 6.5%* | 230 |
| Sudan | 12.7% | 12.6% | 1,998 | 10.9%* | 312 |
| Bangladesh | 11.0% | 11.3% | 1,851 | 7.4% | 1,546 |
| Syria | 22.7% | 24.0% | 1,835 | 8.5%* | 318 |
| Nigeria | 19.1% | 22.5% | 1,705 | 10.9% | 1,124 |
| Eritrea | 25.7% | 23.4% | 1,480 | 48.1%* | 181 |
| Philippines | 9.1% | 7.4% | 1,323 | 7.0% | 1,086 |
| Turkey | 7.2% | 8.0% | 1,291 | 6.4% | 979 |
| Ethiopia | 9.4% | 11.1% | 1,250 | 7.2%* | 293 |
| Brazil | 13.4% | 6.0% | 939 | 13.1% | 876 |
| China | 8.4% | 7.4% | 870 | 6.8% | 648 |
| Sri Lanka | 8.4% | 8.3% | 831 | 6.1% | 510 |
| Morocco | 6.3% | 7.4% | 825 | 5.1% | 777 |
| Albania | 25.9% | 20.7% | 820 | 25.8% | 761 |
| Somalia | 23.8% | 28.4% | 812 | 8.8%* | 377 |
| Thailand | 6.2% | 6.8% | 725 | 5.0% | 625 |
| South Africa | 6.9% | 6.4% | 696 | 6.1% | 538 |
| Egypt | 12.7% | 8.1% | 542 | 6.2%* | 324 |
| Vietnam | 9.8% | 10.5% | 533 | 7.3%* | 193 |
| Canada | 7.3%* | 5.7% | 490 | 7.1%* | 452 |
| Australia | 6.2%* | 5.9% | 484 | 5.5%* | 419 |
| Uganda | 22.9%* | 20.0% | 472 | 12.6%* | 151 |
| Germany | 7.9%* | 9.2% | 458 | 7.6%* | 446 |
| Kenya | 9.5%* | 14.3% | 422 | 4.9%* | 304 |
| France | 7.0%* | 9.8% | 400 | 6.2%* | 390 |
| Italy | 5.1%* | 7.1% | 372 | 5.2%* | 368 |
| Zimbabwe | 25.4%* | 27.2% | 338 | 16.8%* | 197 |
| Russia | 8.0%* | 5.3% | 337 | 7.0%* | 287 |
| Jamaica | 14.4%* | 14.9% | 334 | 8.6%* | 267 |
| Romania | 8.2%* | 6.6% | 331 | 7.2%* | 318 |
| Netherlands | 8.6%* | 7.5% | 314 | 6.6%* | 302 |
| Spain | 4.8%* | 9.8% | 310 | 5.0%* | 298 |
| Cameroon | 21.7%* | 15.1% | 276 | – | 80 |
| Algeria | 12.0%* | 12.3% | 275 | 9.3%* | 248 |
| Poland | 5.0%* | 6.0% | 260 | 5.2%* | 249 |
| Colombia | 7.5%* | 11.0% | 253 | 5.7%* | 227 |
| Tunisia | 6.7%* | 5.1% | 253 | 6.9%* | 245 |
| Gambia, The | 20.6%* | 22.4% | 248 | 10.0%* | 160 |
| Mexico | 6.9%* | 5.2% | 247 | 5.7%* | 230 |
| Sierra Leone | 25.2%* | 26.9% | 206 | – | 93 |
| Greece | 5.8%* | 5.6% | 190 | 4.8%* | 187 |
| Indonesia | 3.8%* | 3.3% | 184 | 2.4%* | 169 |
| Portugal | 9.2%* | 10.3% | 174 | 7.2%* | 167 |
| New Zealand | 7.6%* | 10.2% | 170 | 6.8%* | 148 |
| Sweden | 8.4%* | 10.2% | 166 | 8.6%* | 152 |
| Congo (Democratic Republic) | 27.6%* | 30.3% | 163 | – | 63 |
| Malaysia | 4.6%* | 4.0% | 153 | 3.6%* | 137 |
| Palestine | 18.6%* | 49.2% | 145 | – | 37 |
| Japan | 5.6%* | 3.1% | 144 | 5.9%* | 135 |
| Hong Kong | 1.5%* | 8.5% | 133 | – | 82 |
| Belgium | 11.3%* | – | 124 | 11.0%* | 109 |
| Lebanon | 11.3%* | 12.8% | 124 | 6.8%* | 103 |
| Libya | 4.1%* | 7.0% | 123 | – | 78 |
| Jordan | 5.0%* | 6.2% | 121 | – | 91 |
| Tanzania | 11.8%* | 15.8% | 119 | – | 76 |
| Peru | 10.3%* | – | 116 | 8.7%* | 103 |
| South Korea | 6.3%* | 8.5% | 111 | 5.5%* | 110 |
| Hungary | 10.0%* | – | 100 | – | 96 |
Source: Home Office, Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes detailed datasets, year ending June 2026 (XLSX, published 27 August 2026, downloaded on 15 October 2026; next update 26 November 2026). Refusal rate = refused ÷ (granted + refused), as in the Home Office grant rate; withdrawn and lapsed applications are excluded. Figures from 2026 Q1 are provisional.
"Family" is the Home Office group for people joining a British citizen or a person settled in the UK (partners, children and other relatives) and for refugee family reunion; "partner" is the Home Office visa type "Family: Partner", the route for spouses, civil partners and unmarried partners.
Quarter by quarter, all nationalities
| Quarter | Family visas refused | Family decisions | Partner visas refused | Partner decisions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q3 2024 | 13.4% | 23,602 | 7.4% | 13,638 |
| Q4 2024 | 16.7% | 19,828 | 7.5% | 10,789 |
| Q1 2025 | 14.6% | 18,809 | 7.0% | 10,245 |
| Q2 2025 | 12.2% | 20,148 | 6.9% | 10,812 |
| Q3 2025 | 13.9% | 19,517 | 6.6% | 10,375 |
| Q4 2025 | 13.7% | 17,857 | 6.2% | 11,834 |
| Q1 2026 | 15.1% | 14,149 | 10.7% | 9,053 |
| Q2 2026 | 12.5% | 15,264 | 6.5% | 10,721 |
Source: Home Office, Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes detailed datasets, year ending June 2026 (XLSX, published 27 August 2026, downloaded on 15 October 2026; next update 26 November 2026). Refusal rate = refused ÷ (granted + refused), as in the Home Office grant rate; withdrawn and lapsed applications are excluded. Figures from 2026 Q1 are provisional.
Questions people ask
What is the UK spouse visa refusal rate?
From July 2025 to June 2026 the Home Office refused 7.3% of decisions on partner visas, the route for spouses, civil partners and unmarried partners (3,081 refused, 38,902 granted). In the year before it was 7.2%.
What is the UK family visa refusal rate?
13.8% of all family visa decisions were refusals from July 2025 to June 2026 (9,197 of 66,787). The family group also includes children, other relatives and refugee family reunion: without partner visas, 24.7% of those decisions were refusals.
Which nationalities have the highest UK family visa refusal rates?
Among nationalities with at least 500 family visa decisions from July 2025 to June 2026: Nepal (39.6%), Albania (25.9%), Eritrea (25.7%), Somalia (23.8%), Syria (22.7%). The lowest: United States (4.7%), Yemen (5.6%), Thailand (6.2%), Morocco (6.3%), Iran (6.6%).
Does a low refusal rate mean a spouse visa will be approved?
No. Each application is decided on its own evidence: the financial requirement, the relationship, accommodation and English language. These rates describe past decisions for all applicants of a nationality, not anyone's chances.
How to read these figures
- The Home Office counts applicants by nationality, wherever they applied, and an outcome in a quarter can relate to an application made earlier.
- The refusal rate is refused ÷ (granted + refused): withdrawn and lapsed applications are left out, as in the Home Office "grant rate".
- These are entry clearance visas, applied for outside the UK. Partners who switch to a family visa from inside the UK are not counted here.
- The income needed for a partner visa is on our UK spouse visa income requirement page.
UK visa refusal rates by nationality (all visa types) · Schengen visa refusal rates · UK spouse visa income requirement